Tron Legacy will soon be upon us, but don't try to brush up on your Tron knowledge by obtaining the original. Used copies go for as much as $75 on Amazon, and it's completely unavailable on Netflix. According to Hero Complex, director Steven Lisberger recently remastered the film for a Blu-Ray release. Lisberger commented:

They’re trying to figure out when the best time is to release it. I don’t think there’s anything intentional going on to deprive ‘Tron’ fans of the new edition.

I call complete bullshit on this. Disney would only withhold copies of Tron (AKA completely avoidflooding the entire market with Tron DVDs) if they believed it to be financially advantageous. And with graphics and plotting that are incredibly dated, waiting until after Tron Legacy has made its millions before re-releasing Tron is probably the best move.

Posted by
David Chen

Wednesday, November 10, 20108:12 PM

8
comments :: Why Can't You Find Tron DVDs Anywhere?

I bought mine for $3 at a Hollywood Video that was closing, not because I love the movie, but because my little brother hadn't seen it. That thing is worth $75?!? Might need to sell mine....

Dave, Clearly Disney would never withhold copies of a movie from the market and only release it on a pre-arranged schedule. They would need some sort of vault to hold them in, and that's just crazy talk.

Dave, I'm pretty sure Amani wasn't mocking you.Just making fun of the fact that Disney does withhold titles in their so-called "Disney vault"

They do it for pretty much every animated classic they have. Beauty and the beast is a great example.That film hasn't been available for years since it came out for a limited time in 2002.Now with the bluray release it's EVERYWHERE.

So that comment by Lisberger is BS. Because it goes against Disney's widely known policy on home video products.

Totally agree with you on this Dave. Totally. It makes more sense to get younger people to buy the original Tron AFTER they have seen new Tron. That way they are more "forgiving" of the oldness of it. You put out original Tron now - your money demo: the 15-21 year olds, who have almost no idea what original Tron was - and they will be turned off to seeing new Tron.

Some properties, you just can't go back on for certain age groups. Babylon 5, Star Trek: TNG -prime examples of stuff that, based on special effects alone would actually TURN OFF younger viewers...let alone Tron - which, graphically, at its best is "quaint/cute/nostaligic" - but at is worst is terrrrrrrible.

Which leads to this random sidepoint from the Star Wars 3D re-releases (of which you were pretty negative on during the /filmcast). Here is the real "value" of the re-release (outside of the financial gain to Lucas) - a whole generation of 30-somethings, will be able to take their young kids, to see the ORIGINAL trilogy, on the big-screen, in 3D - and there is a VERY large chance that those kids may take to them in the same way their fathers/parents did.

For instance, I calculated it out - and basically, my son will likely be 5-6 when Episode IV comes out. Think of the impact that could have on him, seeing that movie for the first time - in 3D. Same effect it had on me when I first saw the original trilogy? Ultimately, why the re-release is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. WTF this has to do with Tron?? I have no idea.

This blog chronicles my journey into the world of photography, videography, and music. It also serves as my repository for random thoughts about film, technology, television, culture, journalism, and new media.

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